Townes Van Zandt

Townes Van Zandt was born on March 7, 1944 in Fort Worth, Texas and was a country-folk music singer, songwriter, performer and poet. Van Zandt attracted a small and loyal following throughout his life that was almost cult-like in their devotion. Van Zandt was known for his notorious drug use and spent most of his career, due to his drug use playing dive bars and living in cheap hotels. When he was a teenage, Van Zandt was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and treated at the time with insulin shock therapy, which damaged much of his long-term memory.
Van Zandt saw Elvis Presley perform on the Ed Sullivan show in 1956, and the performance profoundly changed his life. His father brought him a g... Continue Bio >>